By David Hawkins
So. Winter is here. What are you going to do with the kids now that they’re trapped inside and going mental? It turns out that tying them to the washing machine and putting it on spin cycle for six hours is frowned upon (at least, that’s what the police told me). We’re going to need to get a little DAD-CRAFTY!
tool (hole punch & cardboard saw), hinges and connectors. The big upside to these plastic kits is that they can be reused, which allows me to pretend to be an environmental superhero. Plus, ripping apart all of that packing tape when you’re tidying up is just exhausting.
I’ve got some big cardboard boxes and a whole lot of parent-needs-downtime enthusiasm! Let’s whip them into an awesome CARDBOARD BOX MAZE for the munchkins to lose their minds in.
Here are a few builder’s tips to get you cardboard constructing:
Grab these:
• Put the boxes on their side. Join the open bottom of one box to the open top of another. This limits the amount of cutting you need to do and is, well, easier. • Put in at least one corner. A straight tube of cardboard is only fun for so long, but a corner means that hide and seek will make its DIY debut. • Grab a box cutter. An easy way to make a corner is to cut a doorway into the side of one of the boxes and then jam the open end of another box up to it. Instant corner. • Install some light wells. If your box maze becomes quite long it’s also going to get pretty dark on the inside. Fix this by creating peaked roofs. Just join two adjoining box flaps into an A-shape. • Create a Jack-In-The-Box lookout spot. Turn one of your boxes the right
• As many large cardboard boxes as you can find • A couple of rolls of packing tape OR • Makedo ‘Make Anything’ kit I’ve got no blueprint or instruction guide for you here because it’s a go nuts approach that will create the best play-maze. We’re all about connecting the boxes and seeing how many interesting hidey-holes or pop-up areas you can make. Packing tape works the best, as it’s super strong and will battle valiantly against your childrens’ rough and tumble playing. But you can also use a pre-fab construction kit like I did. It comes with a plastic, safe-around-minors
Dance has an enormous amount of benefits to children’s health. It improves your child’s co-ordination, creates lasting friendships in new surroundings and all while boosting confidence, developing motor skills, creating a love of music and most importantly it gives a glow and happiness to our students. DanceStruck has been a part of the dance community for over 20 years teaching the international Royal Academy of Dance syllabus. Our teachers are recognised industry professionals and we would love to see you at one of our classes for a FREE trial session!
P: 9558 7227 H RIÀFH#GDQFHVWUXFN FRP Z ZZZ GDQFHVWUXFN FRP 84
Peninsula Kids – Winter 2015